9° Appendix, • NOS 9 & JO. / appendix, N°. n. "( Ireland.) - Eighth REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS { Excife been exerted by the Board of Excife. Amongft feveral inftances we particularly remarked the cafes of two individuals, againft whom Sur- charges were permitted to accumulate from month to month to the • amount of £. 15,065. gs. $ d. againft one, and of £. 9,637. is. 11 d. againft the other, both of which remained outftandmg and unlettled at the clofe of the year ending 5th January 1808. The number of fuch claims having however attracted the attention of the Board, a general order was iffued in October 1807, reguiring, amongft other regulations, all Surcharges to be in the firft inftance enforced, and the claims , of abatement to be referved for fubfequent difcuffion ; but this part of the order appears to have been only partially carried into exe- cution, as we find feveral Surcharges on Strong Waters incurred fince that period, outftanding and unfettled, in the Quarter ending 5th April r8o8 ; probably the nature of the fubjeCt could not admit of its being otherwife, as cafes might occur, accompanied by fuch circumftances, as would render the immediate payment of the Surcharge altogether ruinous to the Trader. Though it muft be admitted that the apparatus ufed in the procefs of Diftillation, is liable to frequent accidents, in confequence of the rapidity of work required under the prefent fyftem of levying the Duties on Strong; Waters, it is however obvious, that with the connivance of the Officers, numerous and extenfive frauds may be eafily committed, . under the pretext of fome fatality having happened to the Still. To de- prive, therefore, the Diftillers of any pretence for making claims of ^ SiGeo. III. c. Si. abatements of this defcription, it is provided by an A6t of the laft Seftion of Parliament, that for every Still they are relpeCtively licenfed to work, each Diftiller fhould be permitted to keep at the Excife Office gf his diftriCt, a Still of the like dimenfions and upon the like plan, to be fet up and ufed in place of the Still prevented by any accident from working, and that no abatement of charge fhould be made by the Commiffioners, • on account of fuch interruption, except for any Wafh not diftilled within the time limited by Law. Any meafure calculated to diminifh the number of " Surcharges 011 Strong Waters, will certainly tend to prevent fo great an accumulation of unproductive arrears, aud confequcntlv render the ColleCtors Accounts much lefs em'barrafled and perplexed. To re- lieve the Excife Accounts from fuch charges as have been abated, either in'confequence of the application of the Trader, or of their being con- fidered to be irrecoverable, we are informed that the Commiffioners are in the habit of directing ColleCtors to deduCt the amount of the charge fo abated, out of the produce of fome branch of Excife chargeable in fome future Voucher, or ftated in fome future Quarterly Account, or generally from the ftated produce of the Quarter, and the Examiner to give them a like credit in his certificate to the Accountant General. Thus it is ftated, that in the year ending 5th January 1 80S, a fum of 55,31 ys. 2s. 1 o£ d. was deducted 011 account of fuch abatements, out of the produce of different branches of the Excife for that year. Thefe credits are moft frequently direCted to be taken, by deducting the'amount out of the produce of future Vouchers. If there be fufficient produce accruing within the diftriCt; of the fame denomination of Duty as that in which the abate- ment has taken place, the order of the Board ufually direfts the deduction to be made from fuch produce ; but the want of correfpondence in the defcription of the produce feems to be little regarded, the deduction beino- lJ • » Appendix, N° 12. Ibid, & Appendix, N°. i3 Appendix, N' 12. 11a